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Altria Group Recognized for Its Commitment to LGBTQ Equality
February 1, 2021 GMT
RICHMOND, Va. (BUSINESS WIRE) Feb 1, 2021
Altria Group, Inc. (Altria) (NYSE: MO) today announces that it received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2021 Corporate Equality Index, the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality. Altria joins the ranks of 767 major U.S. businesses that also earned top marks this year. This is the fourth year in a row Altria has received a score of 100.
California’s Flavored Tobacco Ban Goes to Voters After Referendum Signatures Certified
On Friday, the California Secretary of State’s office certified that a referendum challenging the state’s ban on flavored tobacco sales had garnered more than the minimum number of valid signatures and will head to the ballot in November 2022.
In the meantime, the ban is on hold, and retailers can continue selling flavored tobacco products.
The ban had been set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2021, but was delayed until the signature verification process had been completed. In order to qualify for the ballot, organizers of the referendum submitted more than 1 million signatures, as they needed to get 623,212 verified signatures from California voters. On Friday, the Secretary of State’s office published a report indicating that organizers had gathered 781,885 valid signatures.
FDA Grants PMTA Approval to Next-Generation IQOS Device
RICHMOND, Va. Altria Group Inc. received the green light to market IQOS 3 in the United States.
On Dec. 7, the company announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized commercialization of the next generation of the IQOS tobacco heating system device. FDA authorization follows review of the IQOS 3 Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) submitted by Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI).
Philip Morris USA (PM USA), under an exclusive agreement with PMI, commercializes the IQOS system in the United States with three HeatStick variants.
According to Altria, IQOS 3 offers several enhancements to the IQOS 2.4 currently being sold in select U.S. markets, including a longer battery life, faster re-charging time, a side opening mechanism, and a magnetic closure.